The announcement was made about 11:30 a.m. in the Mayor's Press Room inside City Hall.

Landrieu appointed Tim McConnell, a 29-year veteran of the NOFD, to the position after the previous superintended, Charles Parent, went on medical leave.

Before being appointed Wednesday, McConnell served in a variety of capacities since he joined the NOFD in 1984 from firefighter to assistant superintendent. He was he interim superintendent while Parent was on leave.

In April, a job ad was posted on the International Association of Fire Chiefs' website about the position becoming available.

Parent was appointed as the 10th NOFD superintendent in 2003. He joined the NOFD in 1982, the city said, and advanced through the ranks of the department.

He became a fire captain in 1990, district chief in 1995 and acting deputy chief in 2002.

CHARGE. CHIEF TIMOTHY MCCONNELL WAS APPOINTED SUPERINTENDENT. WDSU ANCHOR SCOTT WALKER JOINS US WITH HOW THE CHANGE IN COMMAND IS CHANGING THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE DEPARTMENT. CHIEF MCCONNELL IS TAKING OVER THE DEPARTMENT AS THE 11TH SUPERINTENDENT. HE WAS SWORN IN TODAY AT CITY HALL, TAKING THE PLACE OF CHARLES PARENT WHO ANNOUNCED HIS RETIREMENT BACK IN APRIL. MAYOR MITCH LANDRIEU SAYS MORE THAN 40 PEOPLE APPLIED FOR THE JOB, BUT THE CITY WENT WITH MCCONNELL.. WHO'S BEEN WITH THE FORCE 29 YEARS. MCCONNELL SAYS THE DEPARTMENT NEEDS TO BE AGGRESSIVE ABOUT FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFETY... INSTEAD OF JUST BATTLING FIRES. HE SAYS HE WANTS TO EXPAND COMMUNITY SERVICES CALLING THEM MORE COST EFFECTIVE. for too many years ... No where in our mission statement does it say that we fight fires. BOTH PARENT AND THE MAYOR TOUTED MCCONNELL'S WORK INITIALLY AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA WHERE HE REBUILT AND RESTORED MANY OF THE CITY'S FIRE HOUSES. THE PASSING OF BUGLE CEREMONY WILL BE HELD AT NOFD HEADQUARTERS TOMORROW. RETIRED CHIEF CHARLES PARENT WILL PASS THE TRADITIONAL HORN TO HIS SUCCESOR , SUPERINTENDENT MCCONNELL, TO OFFICIALLY SYMBOLIZE HIS RANK AS CHIEF OFFICER OF THE NOFD.